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The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, and the President of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Juan Manuel Suárez del Toro Rivero, today signed a cooperation agreement in Madrid.

The IOC President will also be signing a cooperation agreement with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Jakob Kellenberger, in the coming weeks in Geneva.

The two organisations are joining with the IOC to promote shared humanitarian values such as universality, volunteerism, solidarity, tolerance and peace, which constitute the cornerstone of their respective missions. Their networks, comprising Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and National Olympic Committees in virtually every country in the world, will be a powerful alliance for the promotion and protection of those values. The IOC and the IFRC will give particular attention to cooperation in areas affected by natural disaster or disease, while the IOC and the ICRC will also work jointly on projects of sport humanitarian assistance in areas affected by armed conflict.

The goal of the IOC and the Olympic Movement as a whole is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit of mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair-play. This is matched by the commitment of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its Fundamental Principles to protect human dignity, life and health and the universal values of International Humanitarian Law.

On signing the agreement, the IOC President Jacques Rogge said "Sport reaches out to millions of people around the world and brings them hope and dignity. This signature will allow the Olympic and Red Cross Movements to bring their efforts together in order to promote international solidarity and to contribute to human development".

IFRC President Suarez del Toro, delighted about the new partnership, said "It will provide a real and strong opportunity for National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to join forces with their colleagues in National Olympic Committees and produce results benefiting vulnerable people all over the world".

ICRC President, Dr. Jakob Kellenberger, said about the agreement: "The ICRC looks forward to developing a relationship that contributes to a wider understanding of the need to preserve human dignity, especially when it is at greatest risk during armed conflict."